The Violet Hours

Time for Gold Sharpie Projects

I know today's topic is awfully specific, but honesty, I'm amazed how one little pen can make things look so fancy, delicate, and expensive. Check out what you can do with a gold sharpie pen! {UPDATE: After starting to embark upon my own gold-sharpie mug project, I learned that you need to use the Oil Based Paint Sharpies...not the regular markers! Now carry on...}

Draw your design and then bake in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes. Endless possibiities here! I may just have to head over to Fishs Eddy this weekend to experiment. Via My Home Lookbook.

 

I've seen the vintage-teacup-turned-candle quite a bit, but adding a little gold bling with words or edging can make all the difference. Here's a perfect example of how the gold sharpie just kicks it up on the elegance scale. By Hey Gorgeous Events.

 

These gorgeous walls were stencilled with a gold sharpie. One word. Wow. By Rethink Design via Bazaar of Serendipity.

 

Embellish white ceramic drawer pulls so easily with a gold sharpie. Via Creature Comforts.

 

A ruler, white paper, and a gold sharpie = lovely wrapping paper. Via Paper Crave.

Time for the 10 Best Valentine Cookies

Yes, this is my second baked goods post in a row; I'm not sure how to interpret that. This post could have gone on for pages, but I reigned it in to 10 of the sweetest confections to make on February 14th. In no particular order, here are my 10 favorite Valentines cookie treats!

{1} Conversation heart cookies had to make the list, but what took these beauties from Martha Stewart over the top were the sewn pouches.

{2} I love that these dot cookies from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle are not red, white, and pink.

{3} Twice the love with these double-decker heart cookies from Bake at 350.

{4} I love the classic cookie and milk combo for sure, but the arrow straw? A genius confection and presentation by Cookies and Cups. (PS...if you want to try this, you can get these precious farmstand milk bottles at Shop Sweet Lulu.)

{5} You don't need a special pan to make these heart-shaped whoopie pies by Annie's Eats. Just trace a heart template onto wax paper and use a pastry bag pipe the dough within the pencil lines. So smart!

{6} This Hayley person is one talented chick! I love her color choices and the tone-on-tone "I Love You" cookies. Very chic. By Hayley Cakes and Cookies.

{7} Lovely cookie-lollipop combo by Martha Stewart.

{8} Love this stack of heart cookies by Patti Paige Baked Ideas.

{9} Need Valentine cookies for your manly man? These woodland ones from Whipped Bake Shop on Etsy are yours with the click of your mouse.

{10} Hugs and kisses or edible tic-tac-toe? These x and o cookies from Woman's Day can go either way.

 

Eat your heart out, lovebirds (sorry, I just had to say it)!

Time for My Impending Birthday

My birthday is a week from today (no gifts please) and all I want this year is to bake a cake with my son Oliver. He loves to "help" in the kitchen and he's recently been obsessed with the Birthday Cake episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (if you have a toddler and don't know this PBS show, you must check it out). And then, of course, there's the consuming of the cake.

Here's a little wishful thinking...

Oh, if only a 2-year-old had the dexterity for a needlepoint cake! (If only I had that dexterity!)

Basically I wouldn't be able to let the kid touch this gorgeous confection. By Kara's Party Ideas.

 

This is closer to what I'm going to get...and what I'll be totally thrilled with. We'll see if Oliver has inherited his father's color-palette-assembly talents. From Sprinkle Bakes.

Time to Draw On Your Placemat

If there were a step-by-step guide to teaching patience at the toddler level, I'd buy the DVD, the book, the book-on-tape, and subscribe to the Twitter feed, Facebook updates, and Instagram posts. But, no matter how hard we try, dinners out, and sometimes even dinners in, require a delicate time balance between the pre-food entertaintment, food arrival, waiting for food to cool down, and then the digestion/wait-for-the-check black hole. Potential solution? Placemat entertaintment.

I have this awesome set of paper placemats called Let's Make Some Great Placemat Art. It's imaginiative and open-ended, but still too advanced for my 2.5 year old.



I love this hand-drawn/digital take on placemat messages, but we are still in the letter recognition phase, rather than the letter creation one. Note to self: save for age 5. Or my next dinner party. Via Habitat Kid. 

Alas, sometimes the right solution is the easiest one. Just toss down some brown paper and cups of crayons and let the madness take its course. I'll do anything to avoid the dinnertime Mickey Mouse Clubhouse videos on You Tube. Photo via Country Living.

Time for Butcher Paper Gift Wrap

I know we just passed Mother's Day and there really is no gift-giving holiday in the very near future, but I thought these wrapping ideas all using butcher paper were post-worthy.

Just brown paper or boxes and yarn. Gorgeous and amazing. Found on Oh Happy Day; from More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts via Melanie Falick Books

Love confetti; hate the mess. But if I got a gift wrapped like this, I'm not sure I'd even open it. From Tokketok.

Use a date stamp to make a graphic pattern on solid paper. I love the thought of stamping someone's birthday all over their package. Visit Paper, Plate, and Plane for more photos and instructions. (Colored ink might give it more pizzazz. Just sayin'.)

Time for a Permanent Party

It would make me very happy to live with this on one wall of my home...it's like a party all year round. Crafted by Creative Jewish Mom.

Time for Upcycling Piñatas

Ok, it's one thing to make your own piñata, but it's another to pick up the scraps after it's been beaten to a pulp and continue crafting! Not something for the faint of craft. How cute are these piñata scrap bags from Giddy Giddy? And those piñatas? Bestill my beating heart...

 

Time for an Owl Party

Ok, here's the thing about me and owls...I collect them. And I swear, I've been collecting them for years longer than they have been the bird of the moment. Both of my grandmothers collected figurines, jewelry, tape dispensers, belt buckles...all with owls. So when my niece Grey asked if I would help plan an owl party for her 7th birthday, it was a no-brainer.

The party started with a hunt for gold rocks in the front yard, followed by this adorable owl craft. My sister-in-law Dena found a pile of magnolia branches on the side of the road and took them home to slice and seal them with polyurethane.

 

  

 

Here's how to make the owl:

1. We used Mod Podge to cover 3" styrofoam balls with tissue paper. (We saved ourselves the mess and did this step for them.) We put them on skewers so the girls would have something to hold.
2. We cut large feathers out of brown felt; they became the wings and feathers to cover the backs of the birds. They girls glued them on to their styro ball.
3. Dena pre-cut hundreds feathers from felt (yes, she's a little nuts). Starting at the bottom, we glued the feathers in rows to cover the ball. 
4. Once the ball is covered, glue a triangle pointing down in the front to the top of the head.
5. Then, glue two buttons on either side of the triangle.
6. Use hot glue gun to attach to a log or stick. 

Here are some pics of these adorable little girls having the best time!

   

   

Time to Upcycle Wine Bottles (or Happy New Year!)

Just a little crafty thought as you head into a night of boozin'...here are some lovely uses for your wine bottles, saving them from the recycling bin.

Happy New Year from The Violet Hours! xxoo

How gorgeous are these wine bottle torches? Find the how-to on Design Sponge.

I love this frosted look, like these bottles have been sitting out in the snow. Found on Style Files.

Turn a wine bottle into a mini terrarium. Here's a how-to on cutting the bottle. Love the fiddlehead ferns! Found on Wedding Bee.

How's this for an amazing reuse? Instead of buying those blown glass balls to automatically water your plants, use a wine bottle! Found on Chica and Jo.

And of course, the bottle chandelier. For sale on Pottery Barn.

You'd have to be a brave soul to load this shelf up. Found on DeTnk.

And the corks? Well that's a post for next year. Here's to safe, happy, and healthy New Year!

Time for Christmas Crafts

Yes, I know it's late to be posting Christmas crafts (if yours aren't up yet, then really, just don't bother). But late is the story of my life these days with an infant. 

Here are some crafts from my Christmas caroling story for the December issue of Parents Magazine.

The letters for this garland were cut from colored index cards.

Little felt florettes decorate moss wreathes. Full instructions here.

This is a great craft for even little kids. The trees are made from circle punches with clothespins as the trunks.

If you go out caroling, be sure to carry lights. These little lanterns are made from small water bottles. For reals.

Come in from the cold and stir up some hot chocolate with these handsome choco spoons.